DÁIL QUESTIONS 2014

Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Finance the current status of the Living City Initiative announced in the last Budget; and the number of times the interdepartmental group dealing with the matter has met.

REPLY (Sept 17, 2014)Minister Michael Noonan:My officials met formally with representatives from the local authorities and other Government agencies on 31 January last. Since then we have had numerous fruitful contacts with the local authorities and their cooperation in this matter is much appreciated.

My officials have also been in contact with the EU Commission on the application for State Aid approval for the Initiative and this process is expected to be concluded shortly.

I would expect that I will be in a position to make an announcement in the near future.